Montreal's dangerous deep freeze: you might be too numb to feel the risks

As this four-year-old file photo attests, this week is not the first that has seen Montreal plunged into a deep freeze. But after three years of relatively mild winters, do Montrealers remember how to deal with the risks presented by extreme cold? (THE GAZETTE/John Kenney)

Hello and welcome to montrealgazette.com. As you may have noticed it’s somewhat chilly out there. Wednesday morning saw the temperature logged at minus 25 Celsius and the windchill had subsided.

But all that’s expected to change Wednesday night, when the mercury plummets to minus 30 and a windchill expected to hit minus 40.

Yes, you shouldn’t go out and, yes, you should layer up your clothing if you do go outside. But the past few years have seen us spoiled with relatively mild winters, and lot of unprepared people are outside today if only because “it’s too cold today” is not a valid excuse for missing a day’s work.

How careful should we be on days like today?

Dr. Mitch Shulman is attending physician at the ER of the Royal Victoria Hospital and we asked him how dangerous this cold snap can be. Click on the grey icon below to hear what he said. And remember, you can listen to us on iTunes at http://tinyurl.com/a7b39doand follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MontrealAtTheMoment

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